Conor Fynes 'The Ghost You Gave To Me' - Three (7/10)

I have been enamoured with the band Three (or '3') ever since I saw them several years back opening for the immortal Dream Theater. Even though very few in the audience had ever heard of this US act before, it would be difficult to pinpoint someone who wasn't blown away by their performance. Highlighted by the unsurpassed acoustic guitar talents of frontman Joey Eppard, the band was tight and powerful, and my introduction to Three was met with a shortness of breath. Although a recording of old songs has some out since that concert and the big album they were touring for, 'The Ghost You Gave To Me' is the legitimate follow up to 'The End Is Begun'. Back is the powerful songwriting and dynamic presentation that first attracted me to the band, and I have no problem saying that Three have released another fine record. 'The Ghost You Gave To Me' may have even stood a chance to become the band's defining record, were it not for a few less-than-glorious changes that the band has made to their sound.

Three deserve their labeling as progressive rock, but they take a distinctly modern approach, skirting away from many of the conventions that has dragged down the prog 'genre' as of late. The songwriting is generally concise and melodic, and typically relies more on melodic hooks, rather than ten minute solos and the like. 'The Ghost You Gave To Me' is an eleven song set of Three's recognizable writing. With a sound that keeps in touch with current rock trends, Three juice up the music with dramatic flair and feeling. Much like 'The End Is Begun' and albums prior, Three delivers a powerful package despite hovering within a four-minute song format. All the same, the progressive quality comes in through the way the band performs these songs. One of the defining qualities of Three- and the reason I liked them so much to begin with- was the unique use of acoustic guitar in the music. Despite being dramatic rock music, the acoustic guitar work of Joey Eppard was rarely not at the forefront of the action, and for good reason too. The man is a genius with a six-string, and it was always amazing to hear the man pluck away with such complexity. While the songwriting and more rock-oriented aspects of Three are in full force here, the acoustics seem to be something that the band have skirted away from. The intro 'Sirenum Scopuli' is a tease, basking in acoustic glory, and the first 'real' song 'React' makes use of the acoustic guitar in much the same way that they did on the previous album. Throughout the rest of the album though, there is a clear sense that my favourite aspect of the band has become less of a factor in their music.

Instead of the acoustics, I actually feel that Three are beginning to tread into metal territory. This has been a band that has historically attracted the metalhead crowd, but until now, I never thought that they really incorporated metal into their music. Mind you, we still aren't treading into anything particularly extreme with 'The Ghost You Gave To Me', but parts of these songs do tend to crank up the guitars to the point where they would not sound out of place on a modern progressive metal album. To an extent, this tends to work well with this batch of songs. Most of the material that 'The Ghost You Gave To Me' offers is upbeat and energetic. Although his acoustic duties are somewhat subdued this time around, Joey Eppard's voice is taking even more of a forefront in the band's sound this time around, and while his higher register voice may not appeal to everyone in the progressive rock, or metal communities, he has an incredibly skilled voice. His heavy use of ad-libbing would put many a soul warbler to shame.

While I hate the use of paradoxes when attempting to explain something, Three indeed offers more of the same with 'The Ghost You Gave To Me', all the while making some considerable adjustments to how they perform as an act. The more rock-oriented feel to the band this time is no failure, but does not move me in quite the same way as the acoustic- freakout glory of some of their earlier music. Some issues of taste aside, Three are still an artistically vital act.